Record without a laptop
Recording an XR18 usually means a laptop on the stage box and a DAW running all night. With ShowRecorder the phone or tablet you already carry does the job, and the mixer's own Wi-Fi gives the files their names. When the show ends, one file per channel is ready to open in Reaper or your DAW. How it stacks up against a laptop and the other apps is on the comparison page, and the steps are in the guide to recording a gig without a laptop.
What you get
- All 18 USB Channels, recorded in step with each other at the mixer's sample rate.
- Files named from the mixer. Over the Mixer Link, ShowRecorder reads each channel's name and color from the XR18 or MR18 and picks up a rename on the mixer within a second or two: on screen straight away, and with Pro in the files from the next recording.
- A second copy as you record with Pro, on a USB drive through a hub, so one failure doesn't lose the show.
- Markers you drop during the set, and the seconds before you press record, and with Pro a report of the show and a Reaper project.
What you need
- A Behringer X Air XR18 or Midas MR18. The XR12 and XR16 send no multichannel USB audio, so they can't be multitracked this way.
- A USB-C iPhone (iPhone 15 or later) on iOS 26, or a USB-C iPad on iPadOS 26, and a USB-B to USB-C cable to the mixer. For a long show, a powered USB-C hub between them keeps it charged. A Mac version is in testing (macOS 26).
- For names and colors: your iPhone or iPad on the mixer's Wi-Fi, or on the network the mixer is connected to. Recording itself needs only the USB cable.
Set it up
- Connect the mixer's USB port to your iPhone or iPad. Settings shows 18 USB Channels.
- Join the mixer's Wi-Fi.
- Open Settings, then Mixer Link, and tap Find Mixers. Tap your mixer. The meters take the mixer's channel names and colors.
- Press record.
Step by step, with what to check: USB cable and setup and Mixer Link.
Choose what USB records
ShowRecorder records whatever the mixer sends to each USB Channel. Each USB send's source and tap point are set on the mixer, in Routing in X AIR Edit (X AIR User Manual, section 6.13).
For a recording you will remix, set each send's tap to Input. The XR18 recording guide has the steps and what each tap does.
18 channels at 48 kHz take about 9.3 GB per hour, on the iPhone or iPad and again on the drive if you use one. The record screen shows the time left.
Free, Trial and Pro
ShowRecorder is free to download, and Free records all 18 USB Channels to your iPhone or iPad, with generic names on the files and up to 3 Markers per recording. With the Mixer Link, the meters show the mixer's names as you record. Pro adds the names and colors from the mixer on the files, a second copy on a USB drive, unlimited Markers, a report, a Reaper project, 96 kHz, Templates and auto-gain. Pro is a one-time $4.99 purchase at its launch price, with no subscription. Start the 14-day Trial in Settings › Pro to try the Pro features.
Where to get it
ShowRecorder for iPhone and iPad, with the XR18 and MR18, is on the App Store. The public beta is open now with what comes next. See In the beta to join.
The maker's manuals
For help with the mixer itself, such as routing, scenes or firmware, use the maker's own manual. Each is a PDF. The product page has the latest downloads.
Every way to multitrack record an XR18 or MR18, with or without ShowRecorder, is in our XR18 and MR18 recording guide, and other mixers are in the mixer recording guides.
- XR18: Behringer X AIR User Manual, from Behringer's XR18 page.
- MR18: Midas M AIR MR18/MR12 User Manual, from Midas's MR18 page.
Tell us how it goes
Questions, or a mixer that does something unexpected? Write to us at the address on the Support page. Other mixers: see Supported mixers, and the Behringer X32 and Midas M32 page.